Civil Commotion

According to people who should know, The Very Big Guy is using radical Islam to punish humanity for perversion and abortion.

“What is happening with radical Islam rising in the earth is judgment from God against perversion and abortion,” [Rick] Joyner said. “I believe God is using it just the way He used the heathen nations around Israel; whenever Israel fell into apostasy, He would use the heathen nations around Israel to discipline them … I believe this challenge of Islam all over the world, God is allowing it — it’s not His spirit, it’s contrary to His spirit — but He is allowing it to bring judgment on both perversion and abortion.”

Since the Muslims and Copts who are bearing the brunt of radical Islam’s displeasure condemn both same-sex relationships and abortion, and He is well-known to visit His punishments upon the blameless and defenseless in order that those He wishes to chastise might observe his Wrath and learn their lesson, I have to agree that this claim has theological merit.

The more we sin, therefore, the fewer Muslims we have to worry about. Truly, His ways are Mysterious. Amen.

A heartbreaking and utterly pointless set of deaths in Australia illustrate perfectly the soundness of William Clifford’s famous dictum: “It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.”

The pregnant Jehovah’s Witness came to a Sydney hospital with leukemia and a directive against blood transfusions, a decision stemming from her religious beliefs.

The hospital’s staff was faced with an extremely difficult situation: How to treat the 28-year-old woman and her fetus while respecting that her religious beliefs prohibited them from administering potentially life-saving treatments.

The case ended tragically with the fetus dying in utero, followed by the mother, who suffered from organ failure.

The woman was 7-months pregnant, and the fetus was viable. What is more, modern treatment of her form of leukemia makes it quite likely that the mother and the baby would have lived; the survival rate is over 80%.

Had the doctors removed the baby via a Caesarean delivery, unable to offset the inevitable blood loss with a transfusion, it would have amounted to scheduling the death of the mother — an ethical No-Go zone.

So: two needless deaths, a husband’s life thrown into disarray, doctors traumatized by a simultaneous request for help and proscription against help. Let’s not forget, either, that the baby was certainly not a Jehovah’s Witness; the mother effectively chose for it to die. You might expect the anti-abortion crowd would be up in arms, and some are, but her fellow JWs are praising her faithfulness.

Faith — belief without evidence, or even in spite of evidence — is not just about epistemology; it is morally consequential. I say again, then: When some crooning yahoo urges you to set aside your mind and your reason, set aside your doubts, and “just believe” — run for your life, because that is what is at stake.

Book Two: A Criticism of the Highest Values That Have Prevailed Hitherto
II: Criticism of Morality

§270   How is it possible that a man can respect himself only in regard to moral values, that he subordinates and despises everything in favour of good, evil, improvement, spiritual salvation, etc. As for instance, Henri Fred. Amiel. What is the meaning of the moral idiosyncrasy? I mean this both in the psychological and physiological sense, as it was, for instance, in Pascal. In cases, then, in which other great qualities are not wanting; and even in the case of Schopenhauer, who obviously valued what he did not and could have — is it not the result of a merely mechanical moral interpretation of real states of pain and displeasure? Is it not a particular form of sensibility which does not happen to understand the cause of its many unpleasurable feelings, but thinks to explain them with moral hypotheses! In this way an occasional feeling of well-being and strength always appears under the optics of a “clean conscience”, flooded with light through the proximity of God and the consciousness of salvation —

Thus the moral idiosyncratist has (1) either acquired his real worth in approximating to the virtuous type of society: “the good fellow”, “the upright man” a sort of medium state of high respectability: mediocre in all his abilities, but honest, conscientious, firm, respected and tried, in all his aspirations; (2) or, he imagines he has acquired that worth, simply because he cannot otherwise understand all his states; he is unknown to himself; he therefore interprets himself in this fashion.

Morality is the only scheme of interpretation by means of which this type of man can tolerate himself: is it a form of pride?

I don’t think there is much danger of Civil Commotion readers running afoul of church membership agreements, but, just in case: DO NOT sign church membership agreements. Ever. Period.

Did you know that most churches consult attorneys to draw up these covenants? Are you aware that they were developed, not for purposes of sweet fellowship, but to protect the church in case an angry church member sues them? Did you know that some angry church members are actually justified? For those of you who have signed such a document (Dee has and has successfully gotten out of one), were you advised that you were signing a document that had been vetted by lawyers? (Dee was not). An open and honest church should advise unsuspecting potential members of this fact and encourage them to seek similar advice.

I decided, just for fun, to take a look at the two largest Southern Baptist churches hereabouts. The first is very fundamentalist and leans toward Reconstructionism, sponsors a Good News club … ignorant yahoos¹. There is a membership agreement.

After completing the membership class, you will provide some basic information, review the membership book, and prayerfully consider becoming a member at Faith. Once you have decided to join the church, we will schedule a short membership meeting for you with one of the pastors. During the meeting, he will review your testimony of belief in Jesus, sign the membership covenant, and answer any final questions you may have.

That church has suffered numerous splits; several years ago, virtually the entire staff and much of the membership decamped to this church, which mentions no membership covenant on its Web site.

Can’t say I’m surprised.

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¹   In the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, it was one of Pastor Mills’ red-faced excoriations of Friedrich Nietzsche which stoked my curiosity and led me to one of my favorite philosophers.

Pastor Tullian reminds the li’l people that they are no damn good.